1st Stop Iceland – Hiking Grábrók Crater

When Florence and I planned our road trip around the Ring Road of Iceland, like many, we decided to start in Reykjavik and follow Highway #1 in a clockwise direction. As we had picked up the camper van towards the end of the day, we needed a place not too far outside of Reykjavik to make our first stop.

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog, then you know I’ve been to Iceland once before. You also know that I am absolutely obsessed with volcanoes from reading “Why on Earth Would I Want to Go to Iceland?” which I wrote just a few years ago. Since Grábrók craters are located literally right along side Highway #1 and only about 1hr and 24minutes drive North of Reykjavik, this seemed like the ideal place to get out of the van, enjoy a bit of sunset, and look at some pretty darn cool volcanic structures!

Weekly Photo Challenge: State of Mind

State of Mind: Relax. 

Florence relaxing by reading a book in the dunes of Jockey’s Ridge State Park, NC, while I run around playing with my camera in the sand.

Jockey’s Ridge truly is a one-of-a kind travel destination on the East Coast of the USA.

Road Trip: Iceland — Planning and Prepping the Camper

When I first started this blog, the whole reason was that I was heading to Iceland. I was so excited to be visiting another country by myself. The point of my.travel.map was originally to keep my family and friends up to date with what I was doing on my short journey for a college spring break, after all, they couldn’t seem to understand why I wanted to go to Iceland for spring break in the first place (reason #1 why I went alone). Now that I’ve come back to this blog, I’m excited to say that I’ve returned to Iceland, this time with my fiancé, Florence, for a road trip around the Ring Road over the course of 10-days! My next few posts will be the details of this trip, along with stories and photographs from the journey around Iceland.

Planning:

I’m lucky in the fact that I’ve found someone to spend the rest of my life with who loves adventure. When I brought up the idea of going to Iceland Florence didn’t even bat an eye before she said yes. And when we came across the idea of renting a camper van (or is it a flower delivery truck? We’ll let you decide) the first thing that she said was “HELL yes!” It was at that moment that we decided to circumnavigate the entire country by following the Ring Road.

Backpacking the Goat Rocks Wilderness

If you’re into wilderness backpacking and you have not been to the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Washington State, you’re missing out. It is potentially the best backpack I have ever been on (and that includes the one I did in Patagonia, Argentina!). Here, you’ll find long-distance hikers trekking along the Pacific Crest Trail, endless mountain vistas, vast expanses of alpine wildflowers that seem endless before your eyes, and incredible views of glaciers, snow-capped peaks, and even frozen lakes.

Time of Year: Due to the elevation of the Goat Rocks Wilderness, it is recommended to begin your backpack in July. Otherwise, many mountain-side traverses will still be covered in snow and additional safety equipment will be required.

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